Thermochromic textile material
A thermochromic textile material includes a top anti-UV (ultraviolet) layer; a membrane layer below the anti-UV layer; an intermediate layer assembly below the membrane layer; and a bottom layer of transparent mesh cloth. In one embodiment the intermediate layer assembly includes an upper adhesive and a lower thermochromic pigment layer. In another embodiment the intermediate layer assembly comprises an upper thermochromic pigment layer and a lower adhesive.
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to thermochromic materials and more particularly to a thermochromic textile material with improved characteristics
2. Description of Related Art
Thermochromism is the ability of substance to change color due to a change in temperature. A mood ring is an excellent example of this, but it has many other uses such as baby bottles (changes to a different color when cool enough to drink) and kettles.
Clothes made of thermochromic textile material are well known. For example, there are T-shirts having a portion which has a different color in response to heat (e.g., heat generated by hairdryer). However, their quality is poor. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore one object of the invention to provide a thermochromic textile material comprising a top anti-UV (ultraviolet) layer; a membrane layer below the anti-UV layer; an intermediate layer assembly below the membrane layer; and a bottom layer of transparent mesh cloth, wherein the intermediate layer assembly either comprises an upper adhesive and a lower thermochromic pigment layer or comprises an upper thermochromic pigment layer and a lower adhesive.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
Referring to
While the tent 1′ is made of the thermochromic textile material A and the shower curtain 2′ is made of the thermochromic textile material B, it is understood that the tent 1′ can be made of the thermochromic textile material B and the shower curtain 2′ can be made of the thermochromic textile material A in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
Referring to
In one exemplary example, an anti-UV layer (about 12 μm) is coated on a membrane layer (e.g., PP layer) to form a first structural layer, coating a thermochromic pigment layer on a layer of transparent mesh cloth (e.g., nylon), applying adhesive having a thickness about 0.5 mm on the thermochromic pigment layer to form a second structural layer, and finally adhering the first structural layer onto the second structural layer to produce a thermochromic textile material which is cut to a number of units of predetermined size. Each unit is the material for manufacturing a layer of tent or shower curtain which is subjected to daylight from sunrise to sunset. Color change of the tent or shower curtain is detailed in the table of
While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A thermochromic textile material comprising:
- a top anti-UV (ultraviolet) layer;
- a membrane layer below the anti-UV layer;
- an intermediate layer assembly below the membrane layer; and
- a bottom layer of transparent mesh cloth,
- wherein the intermediate layer assembly either comprises an upper adhesive and a lower thermochromic pigment layer or comprises an upper thermochromic pigment layer and a lower adhesive.
2. The thermochromic textile material of claim 1, wherein the membrane layer is selected from a group consisting of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), PU (polyurethane), and PP (polypropylene).
3. The thermochromic textile material of claim 1, wherein the layer of transparent mesh cloth is nylon.
4. The thermochromic textile material of claim 1, wherein the layer of transparent mesh cloth is polyester fiber.
5. The thermochromic textile material of claim 1, wherein the membrane layer has a thickness between 8 μm and 25 μm.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 19, 2010
Publication Date: Feb 23, 2012
Inventor: Ming-Tse Chen (Taipei)
Application Number: 12/859,764
International Classification: B32B 5/02 (20060101);